Hospice
by andyousangyourrefrain
Summary: Grell is a nurse working at the Barnett General Hospital in London; Madam Red is his unlikely patient. Together, they spiral down into dysfunctonality.
1. Kettering

**A/N: Hello again! **

**As much as I enjoy writing Reverie (and getting reviews on it, *hint hint*) I've really wanted to write a story for my favourite pairing- Grell Sutcliff and Madame Red- for a long time now. Admittedly, I didn't expect it to be this depressing or AU-ish, but oh well.**

**The story itself will be partially based off of the Antlers' album, Hospice. For those of you who aren't familiar, the album is about an abusive relationship, told through the metaphor of a hospital worker caring for (and falling in love with) a cancer patient. Not super cheery, but it's a really good album, and since Madame Red was in the hospital for awhile...well, you'll see.**

**Onto the story!**

* * *

_One_

_Kettering_

Like many people, Angelina hated the hospital. She hated it for a plethora of reasons- the dull, dreary lighting, the strong scent of antiseptic wafting through the air, and the general air of sickness and death that surrounded it. But it did remind her of how lucky she was not to be one of the sick or dying.

Well...until now, that was.

Although her mind was growing more and more muddled by the hour, most likely by the morphine drip the nurse had hooked her up to, she remembered she had been in a car accident. It had been a nasty one- both vehicles were damaged beyond repair, although she wasn't so sure about the people inside said vehicles. For example, her husband...he'd been in the driver's seat when it happened, and she'd yet to hear anything about the state of his health.

Nor had she heard about the state of her own health, for that matter; she simply remembered being wheeled into a small room and being injected with something that made her sleepy. That was all. Everything in between that and when she woke up was a blank slate.

The door opened, and in stepped one of the nurses, this one vaguely familiar, although she had never seen them in the hospital before. He had long red hair, with matching glasses; the blue nurse scrubs contrasted with this sharply. As the nurse came closer, it clicked- he was friends with her nephew's uncle, Sebastian Michaelis.

Grell Sutcliff. She was being seen to by Grell.

He didn't recognise her immediately- there were bandages that covered up a lot of her face, due to a nasty gash she had sustained on her forehead. As he stepped closer, though, she noticed him pause awkwardly. "Madam Red? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is," she replied, the hoarseness of her voice surprising her.

His eyes widened. "I didn't know they assigned me to work with you! Maybe that's because I don't know your real name..."

Angelina nodded- or attempted to, although the bandages made her hesitant to try to move. "Does my nephew know?"

Grell frowned. "Ciel? I'm not sure. Your sister came by a little while ago, though. She's sitting in the waiting room with her husband, I believe."

She grimaced at the thought of Vincent sitting next to her sister. _He's probably just here to support Rachel. I'm nothing more than a sister-in-law to him now...not that I should be anything more. I have a husband and a son on the way. Now is no time to be thinking about someone else. _"Could you send them in here when you're done?"

"I don't think that would be a problem. But I really need to focus now." There was a sharp sting as he pulled one of the needles out of her arm, and after a few moments, there was another as he replaced the morphine drip. This repeated with the IV, and Angelina found herself gritting her teeth a bit. The pain wasn't too bad, but it kept catching her off guard.

He stepped away. "Now, do you want me to tell you the news?" His voice dropped slightly, becoming more solemn than before; her stomach dropped with it.

"That would be good."

Grell sighed, breaking eye contact for a moment. "Madam R- I mean, Miss Burnett, your husband passed away a few hours ago."

Her eyes widened, and a strangled gasp abruptly found its way out of her. She found herself holding back tears, although how well she was succeeding was debatable. "That...I can't believe it."

"And your son..." Grell trailed off for a moment, breathing deeply, before continuing. "Your injuries were too severe to allow you continue carrying him, much less give birth to him, and he had to be aborted." There was the glint of genuine sympathy in his eyes, but Angelina scarcely cared.

"I'd...I'd like to be left alone now," she said, fighting to keep her voice level.

"Understandably." Grell nodded in agreement. "Do you want me to have your sister come in?"

She shook her head. "No, tell her I'm not seeing visitors."

"I'll make sure that gets passed on." With a meek dip of his head, he shuffled back out of the room and into the hall, pulling the door shut. And in the emptiness of the room, she cried.

* * *

It had been a long day for Grell Sutcliff. Today had marked the beginning of his second week as a nurse at Barnet General Hospital, and he began to realise that this was a far, far more emotionally taxing job than he had expected. Not that he didn't expect it to be depressing- it was really more the fact he had a tendency to grow attached to people, something that increased with the amount of sympathy he had for said person. Working in the intensive care unit simply made things worse, because there was an even better chance of his patients dying under his care...yes, he really wasn't the type of person for this job.

But his family wanted him to go to medical school, to follow in the footsteps of his mother and brother, and Grell simply didn't want to fight over it, so he studied to become a nurse, and here he was.

Admittedly, he hadn't expected Madam Red, out of all people, to show up in his list of patients. Having a personal connection to her- even if it wasn't more than aunt of his friend's friend- just made things worse. At least she seemed to be faring better than he had expected her to when she first came in- as much as he loathed to admit it, aborting her son really did save her life. He just wished there was a better way to do it.

He made his way towards the waiting room, quickly locating a relatively young-looking blonde woman, sitting next to a slightly older looking, dark haired man- Rachel and Vincent Phantomhive, if he remembered correctly. Sebastian brought them up on occasion, although he didn't seem to be particularly fond of the couple.

Rachel looked up at his approach. "Is she alright?" she asked.

"Mad-" He paused briefly, trying to remember her name. "Angelina Burnett? She's faring rather well, considering what happened."

"Can I go in to see her?"

Grell shook his head. "She doesn't want any visitors."

Rachel frowned, but simply nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem." Grell turned, heading back towards the intensive care unit; as he walked, he could hear the blonde angrily muttering about something, although he wasn't so sure about what. _I guess they must not have a very good relationship. That, or Bassy wasn't lying when he said she was unpleasant._

Pondering this, he walked down the hall, preparing himself for his next patient.


	2. Sylvia, Part One

**A/N: Aaaaand I'm back! **

**I actually didn't expect this to get any reviews; even just getting a couple felt like a pretty damn big accomplishment to me, so thank you! **

**Chapter two's going to be a bit less angst and a lot more anger on Madam Red's part- let us just say this is going to be a very interesting chapter to write. Now, on to the story!**

* * *

_Two_

_Sylvia, Part One_

A week had passed since the accident, yet the pain still persisted. Angelina was constantly stuck between a state of sleeping and wakefulness, to the point where the lines between the two were becoming rather blurred; although there would be a few minutes of clarity here or there, the morphine made sure to quickly snuff them out. If only she could just rip that damn thing out of her arm...

Grell would show up at her room sometimes, just checking her vitals and making sure she was still doing fine. Half the time, she was trapped in that world, though, so she scarcely remembered his presence. She did notice when he switched off with another nurse- the striking red hair was replaced by blond pigtails and a shrill voice that made Angelina's head hurt. And, contrary to what he seemed to believe, she did occasionally hear him speaking to her when he assumed she was asleep- just murmurs of sympathy and encouragement, nothing all that strange in her mind. Not that she really had the mental capacity at the moment to think about it too hard.

There had been a few times when she recalled her sister and her brother-in-law showing up in her room, although their visits seemed to be short and silent, and full of realised yet unspoken tension between the three. Her nephew was occasionally with them as well, but something told her that Rachel wasn't particularly fond of letting him come see her. Maybe she was still pissed that Angelina had shut herself up after learning about the loss of her husband and son.

At the moment, though, Angelina was alone, staring up at the ceiling. Those few brief moments of total wakefulness were often wasted in solitude- it was almost as if her brain was playing a cruel trick on her. In those moments, she kept hearing that awful news being delivered over and over again, the implications, every emotion that had hit her in that moment...it kept coming back, repeating until she finally passed back out. It had hit a point where, if no one was in the room when she had one of these bouts, she desperately wished to be back in that drugged out state, if only to escape.

There was a light knock on the door, before she saw two figures enter- none other than Rachel and Vincent.

"Oh! You're awake," Rachel exclaimed, although her tone was...half-hearted. Angelina had the sinking feeling that she was only here to keep up appearances. "How are you holding up, Angelina?"

"Well, what do you think?" Angelina muttered in response. Her voice was still hoarse, now with an undertone of bitterness that hadn't been there before. She was caught off guard and unsuprised at the same time.

Rachel frowned. "Did they tell you about your husband? Sutcliff said you were pretty out of i-"

"Yes, they told me!" she snapped. "They told me as soon as I woke back up from the anestesia. Don't remind me."

Her sister crossed the room, taking a seat in the chair; Vincent didn't move from his place, practically hiding next to the door. "You know, Angelina, you might feel better if you quit being so...what's the word for it..._hostile._"_  
_

Angelina's eye twitched slightly. "That's easy for you to say."

There was a loud huff of breath, but that remark seemed to get her to shut up, just in time for Angelina to slip back into sleep once again.

* * *

Grell's shoes squeaked against the floor noisily as he walked, wet from the pouring rain. It had been raining for _days, _and it was about to drive him up a wall. He wanted to be able to go outside without getting soaking wet, to not have to be greeted with yet another depressing, grey, dreary scene after another, but alas, he couldn't have that.

One could say he was in a bit of a bad mood. Sebastian had seemingly dropped of the face of the earth, so he hadn't really had anyone to talk to- he had a couple of other friends, but they probably wouldn't be able to answer the pressing question that had been resting in his mind for the past week or so. "_When does sympathy cease to be sympathy anymore? When does it become something more?"_

Grell had always been one to fall in love quickly and easily- _too _easily. It often ended in heartbreak, with the other party not reciprocating his feelings, or even worse, assuming he only wanted a casual fling. Although he knew the latter wouldn't be a problem here, the former was. There was also the whole 'she's your goddamn patient Sutcliff, get it the hell together' deal as well- William would have his head if he knew that he had fallen head over heels for a patient.

The patient in question was Angelina Burnett (either Miss Burnett or Madam Red to him), hence the question he had been dying to ask someone that could give him a proper answer. It was difficult to explain the sudden fondness he harboured towards her- she was asleep half the time he was there, and the other half of the time she was depressed, hostile, or some mix of the two. She was an extremely hard patient to take care of...so why did he feel anything for her other than carefully-hidden frustration?

Pushing these questions aside, he began his day. He usually had a pretty long list of patients to see to- the intensive care unit was typically quite busy, but the sudden onslaught of rain only increased the volume of people coming in and out. About fourth or fifth on his list was Madam Red, meaning he'd have some time to mentally prepare himself to deal with her, assuming she wasn't sleeping.

Most of the patients he ended up getting, not unlike her, were fairly badly injured, and most tended to be asleep when he arrived. The few that weren't generally weren't very talkative, which he didn't mind most of the time- he had a problem with getting attached to people, so distancing himself from the situation as far as possible was good. _Meanwhile, you kind of knew her as a friend of a friend. It's like you were already setting yourself up for disaster._

After what seemed like a very short time, he came to her door, tapping on it lightly before heading inside. To his surprise, she was sitting up- well, kind of- and her eyes piqued with interest at his arrival. "I didn't expect you to show up so soon."

Her voice was dull- much like the scene unfolding outside the window- and it actually made him sad, in a way. "Really? I usually come here around this time."

"Hm. That means Rachel came by awfully early." She frowned. "Probably thought I'd be asleep, so she'd look good without actually having to talk to me."

Grell's shoulders fell slightly, and he walked over to her bed, reading the monitor. _Her blood pressure's up; she must be angry about something. Probably her sister. _

"Who all has come by to see me this week?" Madam Red asked after a brief silence.

"Your sister and her husband, their son, your parents...that's all I remember off the top of my head." He stepped away. "Now, how is your pain?"

She shrugged. "Still there. Not quite as excruciating, though."

He nodded. "If your pain is getting better, then we can start weaning you off of the morphine," he explained quickly.

Madam Red sighed, her eyes taking on that same dull, disconnected quality as her voice. "Lovely. Now I can just relieve the memories of learning about the deaths of my husband and son instead of being asleep all the time."

Grell raised an eyebrow. "It's necessary, Miss Burnett, if you want to leave the hospital any time soon. We need to make sure your injuries and pain are kept in check before we can release you."

She stared up at him, narrowing her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. Just go."


	3. Sylvia, Part Two

**A/N: At the time being, I've hit kind of a wall with Reverie (unsurprising; it isn't the first rewrite I've done of the trainwreck otherwise known as The Dream Journal) so for those of you who like this fanfiction, you're in luck!**

**In this chapter we'll be seeing some more development of Madam Red and Grell's relationship, as well as her interactions with Ciel, and his with Sebastian. Onto the story!**

* * *

_Three_

_Sylvia, Part Two_

Angelina didn't awake from her usual stupor until later that evening, her bleary eyes quickly being greeted by the sight of her nephew, Ciel Phantomhive, and the blonde nurse that showed up around this time exiting the room. Cautiously, she tried to sit up, but the pain in her lower stomach disagreed with her, and her head fell back against the pillow.

"Aunt Red! You're awake!" Ciel squeaked. "Dad said I could come to see you for a little bit. I have to go home at eight, though."

For once, Angelina smiled. "How have you been doing, Ciel?"

The boy frowned a little. "I've been worried about you, but otherwise, quite well!" He quickly perked up, his midnight blue eyes- the exact same color as his mother's, in fact- sparkling with excitement. "What's it like here? It seems awful boring!"

"It is," she agreed. She tried to sit up again, this time with more success than the other. "I'm asleep a lot of the time."

Ciel nodded. "Yeah, Mom commented on that a lot. She seems rather grumpy lately, doesn't she?" He chuckled a little.

"A little." Angelina tried to keep her tone as light as possible, even though deep down even thinking about Rachel for too long was irritating to her. She was well-meaning- well, at least Angelina hoped she was well-meaning- but just so..._overbearing. _She was a person that she could only tolerate for so long, and in her current state, she almost wanted to reach out and smack her. "She's just stressed, dear, nothing more."_  
_

There was a short knock at the door, and it slowly creaked open to reveal none other than Vincent Phantomhive. "Ciel, it's time to go," he said quietly, glancing at Angelina as he spoke.

Ciel frowned again. "It's eight already?"

He nodded. "Come on, let's get going and let your Aunt Red rest so she gets better soon."

Ciel sighed, looking over at Angelina. "Bye, Aunt Red. Maybe I can come over after school tomorrow!" And with that, the boy walked out after his father, into the bustling hospital hall. The door clicked shut, leaving her alone once again.

_Ciel's a good kid. He's the only person that will talk to me without being passive-aggressive or prying too much. The same couldn't be said for Rachel, however... _Angelina frowned bitterly.

Angelina and Rachel had once been quite close at one time, but a rivalry of sorts had sprung up between them after she and Vincent got married. Angelina was envious of her for marrying the man that she had fallen in love with, and now, she was envious of her for having a family- something she had been so close to acheiving, before it was stripped away at the last minute.

And so, she had began to grow bitter. She tried to keep up a cheerful air around Ciel- he was only eleven, after all, too young to know of her feuds with his own mother and the tragedies that had befallen her- but otherwise...she hoped this was just a phase that would pass soon enough.

* * *

_"Grell? Is something going on? You've been calling me all week!"_

Grell sat at the edge of his bed, cellphone in hand, staring vacantly off into space as Sebastian's voice came on the other line. "Bassy, I need some relationship advice."

There was laughter, then silence. _"Who'd you fall head-over-heels for this time?"_

_Well, hell, I didn't think he'd ask that. _"Does it really matter?"

_"Guy or girl?"_

He sighed. "Girl. It's been mostly girls lately."

_"Have you considered asking her out if you like her so much?"_

There it was, the dreaded question. _How do I answer that? 'Oh, no, she's one of my patients and actually, she's in the hosptial right now?' _Swallowing hard, he forced himself to answer. "It's...it's complicated. You see, I really can't do that, not at the moment an-"

_"Grell, who exactly did you fall for this time? Now I'm concerned."_

"One of my patients, Bassy. A patient!" His voice rose to a shrill shriek at the end- something he only did whenever he was actually distressed. "Do you know who a 'Angelina Burnett' is?"

_"Oh my God, Grell, you're in love with Ciel's aunt? How long have you known her for? Also, what in the hell happened to her?"_

Grell sighed. "Car accident. It killed her husband and h-"

_"Uncle Burnett died? Oh, shit, that's terrible. She must be a wreck!"_

"She is. Well, sort of. She's asleep most of the time. It's...really, really complicated." Grell's shoulders slumped, his free hand now holding up his chin. "I don't know, Bassy. These feelings...they're so much different than one of my normal crushes. It's not even quite love, in the conventional sense. It's more sympathy...and I don't know, maybe wanting to help her."

_"Well, make sure Will doesn't hear about it. He'll rip your head off if he learns about you fooling around with one of the patients."_

Grell recoiled at the thought. "I think I'd rip my own head off if I was fooling around with her."

Sebastian chuckled. _"Good. Otherwise, I'd need to make sure to put an end to that. She is your patient, after all, and probably pretty hurt. You don't fool around with someone in that situation."_

"That's something we can agree on, I guess." Grell straightened up, his eyes wandering over to the clock. _10:43. _"You know, it's a good thing I've got the day off tomorrow. I need some time to think about this."

_"Don't we all? But seriously, if there's a problem, you can talk to me. Got it?"_

Out of habit, he nodded. "Sounds good, Bassy. Now, I'm awfully tired...I think I'm going to head to bed."

_"You sound like you need it. Night, Grell."_

Grell hung up, set the phone on his nightstand, and sprawled out across the bed, staring up at the ceiling, his mind preoccupied still. The conversation with Sebastian had helped- he often found talking to someone about it often helped- but he still couldn't stop thinking about her. Not exactly in a creepy way, he hoped, but he found himself constantly worrying for her well-being, despite having known her for a week (and he probably met her once or twice at the family gatherings Sebastian dragged him along to).

This was a lot worse than his usual infatuations that he dealt with on a disturbingly regular basis, but it wasn't quite love. It felt strange to actually fall in love with someone based on a limited series of interactions- although this probably wasn't the first time he'd done that either- and almost strange...but to be honest, he really couldn't help it.

_Emotions are a bitch._

* * *

Angelina awoke to the sound of the door being opened and an unfamiliar, pale-haired nurse shuffling in. She glanced over at the window, but to her surprise, it was light out, meaning Grell hadn't shown up today. _How strange...although, what am I thinking? He surely has a life outside of the hospital._

Behind her was a small cart, this one holding food. _I've barely eaten lately, but I never feel hungry. Maybe it's because I sleep most of the time. _Wordlessly, the nurse went to the side of her bed, fiddling with something on the side; suddenly, Angelina felt one half of the bed elevate, forcing her into a sitting position.

"I didn't know I could do that," she murmured quietly, eyeing the nurse. _She's rather quiet. Even the blonde girl would at least try to talk to me...this is making me rather uncomfortable. _

The nurse nodded, setting the tray and a set of utensils on her lap before walking out of the room, the door closing shut behind her. Uneasily, Angelina turned to her food; a bowl of soup, some jello, a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. _Might as well eat while I'm up. _

As she set in on her meal, the door opened again, but instead of another nurse, it was the doctor- a strange, eccentric man by the name of Dr. Adrian Crevan. He'd come to see her a few times in the past week, usually with Grell or the blonde girl, but visits were short and infrequent.

"Miss Burnett, yes? How are we feeling today?" He closed the door behind him with his shoe, taking a few steps forward while still maintaining a respectful distance.

"A little better, I guess. Pain's not as bad."

He nodded quickly. "Good, good. I made sure the nurses know to begin easing you off of the morphine. Hopefully, you'll be out in another week or so, provided nothing bad happens."

"Well, seeing what's happened recently, I wouldn't be surprised if something else came up," Angelina muttered, setting down her utensil.

The doctor sighed. "Miss Burnett, you mustn't be so negative. It won't help with your recovery at all."

"You sound just like my sister."

"Then your sister gives good advice."

The mention of Rachel sent a newfound surge of frustration through Angelina, and it took all of her willpower not to snap at him. Instead, she went silent, breaking eye contact.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, she could see him frown slightly. "I'll have Miss Annafellows check up on you in a little while," he said, before quickly exiting the room.

Angelina's mind began to wander after that, but to a different subject entirely other than the fact that her husband was dead and she was irritated by her sister. No, out of all of the things she could've thought about, she thought about Grell. Friend of Vincent's brother, Sebastian, and her ever-present nurse...well, except for now, that was. It felt strange, not having him around, especially when the person who replaced him in his absence- the strange, quiet nurse- was oh so terribly dull.

In a way, she missed him.

Not in the way she missed her husband, or her son, but she missed his company. Even if she was only up for short periods of time, and they hardly spoke, it was nice having someone around that didn't tell her to 'be more positive' or bombard her with unwanted questions. He also didn't bitch at her if she was angry about something- a thing that Rachel especially didn't seem to understand, and she was the only other person who showed up in her room often enough to matter.

_I wonder if he thinks much of me._


	4. Atrophy, Part One

**A/N: Welp, it's Sunday, I'm bored as hell, and I'm going to be busy starting from tomorrow. **

**This chapter ended up coming out a _looooot _differently than I had intended for it to. It was originally going to feature POVs from Sebastian and Rachel as well, but I really couldn't work those in, so instead you guys got some more relationship development between Madam Red and Grell (kind of; like I said, it came out much differently than expected). And some more stuff on the nurse that takes over Grell's patients on his days off.**

**Madam Red should be leaving the hospital soon enough, so we'll get to see what happens with them in a different enviroment.**

**Onto the story!**

* * *

_Four_

_Atrophy, Part One_

Two days passed in utter monotony for Angelina. The other nurse that had taken over Grell's shift was extremely quiet and scarcely talked, and although she did get visitors- Rachel, mostly, although for whatever reason Vincent's brother, Sebastian, showed up at least once or twice as well- conversation was hard to come by. Although the irritation she had felt towards Rachel was fading, she was still hesitant to talk to her in fear that one of them would mess up and the uneasy peace that had just begun to settle between them would be obliterated.

And so, she remained silent most of the time.

It wasn't until those two days had passed, and the red-headed nurse whose company- even if he was only around for a few minutes every couple of hours- she had come to appreciate returned that she spoke again.

It was early in the morning- a quick glance out the window confirmed that it had only just become light out- when the door quietly creaked open, and Grell shuffled in. Unlike last week, where she had been in a drugged-out stupor for most of the time, she was awake almost constantly, sometimes due to small, sharp pains that she would get if she moved too much while she was asleep, sometimes due to strange, incoherent dreams, too hazy to really be nightmares. She didn't really feel that tired despite this- it wasn't like lying in a hospital bed required much energy.

"Co-" She paused to clear her throat, gesturing towards it reflexively. "Could you turn the lights on?"

He jumped a little at the sound of her voice. "Oh, sorry Miss Burnett. Yes, I can turn the lights on." He took a step back, flipping up two of the switches by the door; after just a moment's hesitation, the lights flickered on, casting a clean, cold, flourescent glow on the room. "You're not usually awake this early," he observed, walking forward.

"I believe they've been reducing the amount of morphine they've been giving me," she replied, eyeing him carefully. He looked more disheveled than he had the last time she saw him, with the faintest shadows of dark circles under his eyes, and his hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. "You don't look well."

At her comment, he broke eye contact for a few fleeting moments. "It's nothing," he sighed, "nothing at all."

Angelina frowned. "You're lying," she stated dryly.

Grell didn't answer this time, instead busying himself with checking the bedside monitor- an action that confirmed her statement. "You can't even try to cover it up, can you?"

He turned to her, pushing his glasses up. "I don't want to burden you with my problems. You've already dealt with enough lately."

Although an actual answer, it still wasn't satisfactory for Angelina in the slightest. _I don't see why it's such a big deal. He certainly doesn't seem bothered by my problems, why should I be bothered by his?_

Grell went silent after that, lingering for only another moment or two before vanishing back into the hall. His behaviour was making her suspicious now, but she wasn't so sure of what to be suspicious of. _And he still wouldn't even give the slightest hint as to what this 'problem' of his was, exactly. At least it gives me something else to think about._

* * *

Grell made his way down the hall, his most recent conversation with Madam Red still ringing in his ears. _I can't let her know. It could be disastrous._

Truth be told, his problem was her. It wasn't anything she had done personally, but at this point he knew that these feelings were going to persist until she left the hospital and they qui- no, he couldn't just break contact with her like that. He'd probably find a way to still talk to her; Sebastian knew her after all, he'd even gone to visit her earlier in the week.

Although he knew his life would be so much easier if he quit speaking to her, he wasn't sure if he could just stop on a whim. It was complicated. So goddamn complicated.

He went about his day as usual- checking on patients, bringing in food and water, administering IVs. But she still lingered in his mind; even when he wasn't thinking about her in the present moment, she was hiding just around the corner, waiting to come out and make his stomach twist into knots, to slowly suffocate him under the weight of the emotions that thinking about her entailed. It was difficult, carrying on as if nothing was wrong, when she was only a few rooms or a few corridors away.

Around noon or so he took a break, both because he had to according to his schedule (and William got very irritable if he deviated from his schedule) and because he was having trouble thinking straight. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep on his days off, mostly because he was busy then, too- what with friends and shopping and cleaning up the apartment. And so he shuffled into the break room, stifling a loud yawn as he did. One of the other nurses- Finnian, if he remembered correctly- was sitting at the small card table there, reading a book in the otherwise empty space. He looked up at Grell's approach, frowning slightly at his appearance. "You doing alright, Grell?"

"Just tired." He crossed over to the coffee machine, biting back a noise of frustration when he saw the pot was empty. _So much for coffee. _

"Well, you really ought to get more sleep. Being that tired on the job could be dangerous." Finnian went back to reading his book without further comment.

"If only it was that easy," he sighed, stepping over to the refrigerator and opening it. "Finny, have you seen my lunch?"

"William threw it out. Said it was in there for too long."

Grell turned slowly, his eye twitching slightly. "Of course he did."

Finnian gave him a sympathetic shrug. "Say, isn't it strange that we hardly ever see William but we're all scared of him? Like he's some omnipresent force, watching us all?" He chuckled nervously.

"Who said he wasn't some omnipresent force watching us?"

Finnian opened his mouth to comment, but was interrupted by another one of the nurses- Hannah Annafellows- quietly slipping in. "Hannah! How are you?" he asked, straightening up.

"Fine," she mumbled. Grell took a step to the side, letting her take her turn rummaging through the fridge- although they didn't usually work the same shifts to his knowledge, from what he had gathered she was extremely quiet and shy, and although on the rare occasion one could make conversation with her...it was quite difficult to talk to her.

"If you're looking for your lunch, William probably tossed it out," Finnian informed her. "He cleaned that thing out earlier this morning."

Hannah sighed. "Doesn't surprise me."

"He's awfully irritable lately," Grell muttered.

"I hardly see him around the hospital," Finnian added. "Maybe he's really busy, and that's why he's in a bad mood."

"He made me work overtime yesterday," Hannah sighed. "Claude wasn't very happy about that."

Finnian's eyes darkened with concern. "He didn't do anything, did he?"

Hannah shook her head. "No..."

Grell raised an eyebrow. He'd only heard Hannah mention Claude once- apparently, she was married- in the entire time he had worked at this place, but what did Finnian mean by that? "Is Claude...well, you know..."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly. "I need to get back to work."

Hannah quickly walked out of the room, vanishing into the halls wordlessly, leaving Grell extremely confused. _Did Finnian mean something else by that, or...is Claude abusing her? And if she won't talk about it, then how does Finnian know about it? _

Grell glanced up at the clock. _12:14. Maybe I can catch up with her before I have to start working again. _"You know, I ought to get going t-"

"Are you going to go check on Hannah?" Finnian interrupted him.

Grell's lips pressed into a hard line. "Maybe," he mumbled, taking a sudden interest in the tile flooring.

"I've worked here for two years and she still hasn't told me everything, you know. The only reason I know what's going on is because she came into work once with a bruise on her forearm." Finnian shook his head sadly. "She said she walked into a wall!"

Grell's eyes widened. "So he is? That's awful..." _That might explain why she's so quiet all the time, like she's scared of everyone. She really could be scared of everyone.__  
_

Finnian nodded in agreement. "I tried calling the police on him once, but they didn't have enough evidence to convict him of anything."

Grell's gaze wandered back to the hallway. The same emotion he had felt the day Madam Red had come into the hospital- sympathy, deep sympathy- came flooding back, making his stomach drop. _Shit, not again. Why can't I be an apathetic jackass like William? Then I wouldn't have this problem. Damn you, feelings!__  
_

"Grell, you're making a face. Is something wrong?"

"No, Finny, I'm good." He shook his head, trying to clear it of any thoughts. "I'm going to head back to work. _Or go visit Madam Red...or go find Hannah...__  
_


	5. Atrophy, Part Two

**A/N: I started working on this chapter right after the last, so I only had to fill in a few hundred words or so. I'm not so sure I'll be up to updating it too much this week; tomorrow I'm going to art camp, then a meeting with the homeschool group straight after, then some other stuff the day after that. But I'll try to work on it as much as I can.**

**Madam Red gets out of the hospital, Grell angsts temporarily before realising he's got more important shit to deal with (mostly, Hannah and her delightful husband), Ciel is adorable, and so on. Onto the story!**

**P.S. I can't figure what in the hell to refer to The Undertaker as in the story, so he's just 'the doctor'. Figured I ought to give ya'll a heads up.**

* * *

_Five_

_Atrophy, Part Two_

"Miss Burnett, your health has made a speedy recovery over the past two weeks, and so long as you feel comfortable with this arrangement, we'll be releasing you from the hospital today."

Angelina sat up, swinging her legs off of the bed, listening to the metal frame creak with every movement she made. Across from her, Rachel and Ciel sat, listening to the doctor's words intently, although she herself was occupied with other matters. She was more concerned about what her life was going to become after she was released; she was a widow now, a childless widow, with no job and an expensive bill to foot.

"Are you ready, Aunt Red?"

Angelina was snapped out of her worried thoughts by Ciel's question. Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Good!" The doctor clapped excitedly, his white hair swishing about. "I'll have one of the nurses escort the three of you." He strode out of the room, the door closing behind him noisily.

"I wonder which nurse he's going to send..." she murmured under her breath. _Grell, most likely. _

"Is there a nurse you like, Aunt Red?" Ciel asked. Lowering his voice slightly, he added, "Is it the one with the really red hair, like yours?"

Angelina chuckled. "I suppose. He's friendlier than the other nurses." _I guess I have grown rather fond of Grell. It's a shame I probably won't see him again. _

"That's definitely true," Rachel agreed. "Very, very true."

Silence fell in the room, but only for a fleeting moment; the door opened yet again, and Grell shuffled in, pushing up his glasses. "Hello, Miss Burnett. Doctor Crevan said you're ready to leave, correct?"

Angelina nodded. "Could you help me up? I've hardly gotten out of bed these past few days."

"No problem." Grell took a few steps forward, holding out his hand, which she clutched onto like a lifeline as she tried to stand up. Although her legs wobbled at first, after shifting her weight slightly, she was able to stay up on her feet. "You're lucky your legs didn't atrophy," he commented.

"Yes, I suppose so." She let go of his hand, taking a few tenative steps forward. "Rachel, did you happen to think to bring any of my clothes over?"

"Actually, I did!" Rachel stood up. "They're out in my car. Ciel, do you mind staying with your Aunt Red for a few minutes while I go get her some clothes?"

Ciel shook his head. "Not at all, mom."

With that, Rachel slipped past Angelina and Grell, quietly exiting the room. Ciel turned to Grell as soon as the door clicked shut. "Do you like Aunt Red?"

The redheaded nurse seemed to take a sudden interest in the floor underneath his feet. "Well, you s-"

"Do you, Grell?" Angelina eyed him suspiciously, although underneath her calm exterior, her mind was swirling with questions. _Would it really surprise me if he said yes? _

"She's a good patient," he managed, looking back up.

_A good patient. That's all. _She frowned slightly, but before she could respond, Rachel returned with the clothes. "Go get dressed, Angelina," she said, handing them over. "You don't need any help for that, do you?"

Angelina shook her head vehemently and stumbled towards the bathroom, pushing the door shut. As she took off the hospital gown and pulled on the clothing that her sister had picked out- a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans- she couldn't help but feel disappointed that Grell had only thought of her as a 'good patient'. _But he's your nurse; wouldn't it be strange if he thought anything else of you?_

When she was finished, she couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror. She looked so different than she had before she had been admitted here; her hair was neatly brushed, there wasn't a set of very noticeable stiches running from her cheekbone to just above her chin, and her eyes...they weren't dull and bloodshot, like they were now. It was like she was a completely different person now, a stranger.

And all it took was one little accident.

* * *

_She's gone now. Gone from the hospital, and gone from your life._

Grell couldn't help but sigh a bit as those sliding doors closed shut, but he chose to avoid dwelling too much on it at the moment. He had another person he was concerned about now- Hannah, the quiet nurse who, according to Finnian, was being abused by a man named Claude. _Claude...Claude...where have I heard that name before? It sounds familiar. _

Realising he had been simply standing there, presumably slack-jawed, for almost two minutes, he turned and headed back into the halls of the Intensive Care Unit. _Didn't Bassy used to know a Claude? Claude Faustus...he used to talk about a Claude Faustus. Maybe he's Hannah's husband now. _

He made a mental note to ask Sebastian if he knew what Claude Faustus was up to these days. It could be important, after all.

* * *

_ "Grell, you sound awful. Have you been sleeping lately?"_

It was eight in the evening. Grell sat crosslegged on the couch, his eyes staring off into space, as they often did whenever he was talking on the phone. "Not well. You don't soIund too good yourself, Bassy."

_"The girlfriend's being a pain. But how are you? Still in love with your patient?"_

"She isn't my patient anymore. She was released this morning."

_"You know, Vincent really ought to pass these things on to me, since she's my sister in law and all."_

"M-hm." Grell nodded quickly. "Bassy, do you know how Claude is doing these days?"

_"Claude? Why do you want to know about him?"_

"Just answer, it's important, I swear."

There was a loud sigh. _"Last I heard, he got married to some girl he met while she was working as a waitress. He fell off the face of the earth after that."_

_Was Hannah a waitress? _"You didn't happen to catch her name, did you?"

_"...Hannah. Her name was Hannah."_

Grell felt relieved, in a way- based off of that, he hoped he could put together some sort of plan, provided Sebastian would co-operate. "Hannah works as a nurse at the hospital. Finny says Claude's been abusing her."

There was dead silence on the other line for a few seconds. _"I am going to kill that bastard."_

"Well, I'm not so sure that you can murder him, but if you work with me you will get to kick his ass." He paused for a moment. _If Sebastian could make sure Claude doesn't hurt her, we could probably get her to divorce his ass...but she needs to agree to it. Maybe Finnian could talk to her. He's good at talking to even the most introverted of people. _"Listen, I'm going to talk to Finny at work tomorrow, and we're going to work on a plan to get her out of there."_  
_

_"Sounds good. I'm still pretty damn pissed he vanished, but I guess if he had me around, he wouldn't be able to beat his wife, wo-" _Grell heard a slamming door in the background. _"Mey's home, gotta go."_

Before Grell had the chance to respond, Sebastian hung up. _That's odd, he usually doesn't do that...he did say he was having problems with his girlfriend, though. I'll call him back tomorrow._

* * *

The house was empty. Angelina was used to it being empty when her husband was working, but that was during the day. Not at night, when they'd usually be eating dinner...he was never late for dinner, until now. He was two weeks late for dinner. And she knew each minute, hour, day and week would pile up, because he wasn't coming home.

For what was probably the tenth or eleventh time today, she paced through the empty house. Down the hall, through the living room, back around again, lingering at the master bedroom, lingering at her son's bedroom. Memories of what was and what could have been nipped at her heels, but she forced herself to try to forget. If she was to continue living, she had to forget.

But as she began to, she realised it really wasn't the memories that lay here that bothered her so much. It was being alone...it was that god-damn nurse that she'd gotten way too attached to over two weeks. Two weeks. _Two weeks. _She'd known him for two weeks, but she missed him. _Does he miss me? Oh, don't get your hopes up. You're just a lonely widow...just his patient. Just his patient._

_You were just his patient, nothing more._


	6. Atrophy, Part Three

**A/N: Well, art camp's over, so I should have some more free time for a bit. I am going back to school later this week (sometimes I really hate being homeschooled, I'll tell you guys that right now) but I usually don't have more than five hours, and I'm at home so I can probably sneak on my laptop whilst doing my schoolwork.**

**Moving along, this chapter won't be featuring Madam Red's POV in it. This is mostly because I really want to resolve the story arc with Hannah (which I am going to be referring to as the 'Atrophy' story arc, to clear some things up) and Madam Red isn't going to be prominent again until the resolution of this particular arc (the next one will be 'Bear', to once again clear things up). I've been working really hard to avoid turning this story into nothing but angst, so alas, some things will need to be cut due to that.**

**Bear will start up after this chapter, possibly the chapter after this one if more things need to be covered. But enough of my blathering, onto the story!**

* * *

_Six_

_Atrophy, Part Three_

The heavy rain pounded against his umbrella as he crossed the street, making it difficult to see for the short distance between him and the sidewalk. Grell hated this time of year; he could tolerate the cold temperatures, but the rain and darkness just made everything so dreary. Yet for what had been going on as of late, it seemed fitting for the mood he was in.

Maybe it wasn't so much his own personal situation that depressed him. If he took the time to think and sort through his thoughts- something which he did time to time- he realised it wasn't his own problems, but the problems of others: Hannah's husband, Madam Red's loneliness, Sebastian's girlfriend...he was far, far more caught up in the concerns of others to care for his own.

That became painfully obvious as his train of thought was interrupted by someone honking their horn, and he remembered he was supposed to be crossing the road, not contemplating his emotions. He dipped his head meekly, quickly covering the last ten feet or so before coming to a stop again, trying to remember how to get to Sebastian's apartment from the hospital. He hadn't been by there in a long time, but Sebastian rarely invited him over, so he didn't think anything of it.

_It's a few blocks from this intersection, _Grell reminded himself. _I just need to keep walking down this street and then I'll be there._

Time passed quickly after that, as he cleared his mind and simply focused on arriving there in one piece. _I just need to get him to agree to keep an eye on Hannah while this blows over. _He came to a sudden halt, blinking. _Oh, shit, I'm going to have to convince him to let her live there! There's no way in hell she'll want to go back there! _

He resisted the urge to slap himself for being an idiot and not thinking of such a possibility. He'd been quite careful with his plans- Finnian had already made sure Hannah wanted to go along with this (although, to be honest, that was more of his own idea than Grell's) and that William was aware of what was going on in the event she needed to take time off. But if Sebastian couldn't help, that would make matters signifigantly more difficult- no one but him could stand up to the montrosity that was Claude, at least according to Hannah's reports of him.

Grell pulled open the door of the apartment and shuffled inside the lobby, taking a quick glance around the room. _Second floor, apartment 22. _He located the stairwell and half-walked, half-ran up, finding the door to Sebastian's apartment without too much difficulty.

He knocked on it twice, and no less than a few seconds later it swung open to reveal his dark-haired friend. "Oh. Grell. I wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not, what with the weather and all."

Grell shrugged, glancing at the dripping umbrella in his hand. "I can manage. So long as I'm not having to drive, that is."

Sebastian chuckled. "Yeah, you're a pretty bad driver." He took a step back, gesturing to the inside. "You can come in if you want." Lowering his voice some, he added, "Just be careful, Mey's home and she's in one of her moods."

Grell nodded, quietly ambling inside. It didn't look much different from what he remembered- same black furniture, against burgandy walls and dark grey carpet. It was as clean and orderly as ever- his friend had always been a neat freak, and couldn't stand even the smallest amounts of clutter and mess. It was something that Grell himself had never understood, but he didn't comment on it.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Sebastian crossed his arms, looking at Grell expectantly.

"Oh, yes, that." Grell swallowed hard. "We have most everything worked out, Finny and I. Hannah will come home with one of us after work, and then..." He trailed off for a moment, before sighing. "Bassy, Hannah's going to need to live with you for awhile."

Sebastian glared at him. "You didn't tell me that."

"It didn't occur to me until I was coming over here," Grell admitted. "But you're the only one of us who can protect her from Claude!"

"I don't have a problem with doing it, but..." Sebastian glanced over his shoulder, back towards the master bedroom. "Fine, I'll let her stay with me."

Grell nodded. "Good, good. I'll tell Finny and Hannah tomorrow, and hopefully I can bring her over that night."

"M-hm." Sebastian sighed, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment. "Would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment?"

Grell grimaced at the thought of going back out into the cold. "Alright," he agreed reluctantly.

Silently, they shuffled outside, the door clicking shut behind them. With a sharp exhale, Sebastian turned to Grell. "I need to ask you something."

Grell raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What?"

"I need to break up with Mey-Rin, and I want to know how. I want to know how to break up with someone." Sebastian's face fell, his brown eyes quickly darting to the ground- a gesture rare for him, at least in Grell's experience.

The redhead gave him a hopeless shrug. "I've never actually broken up with someone," he confessed. "They always broke up with me first..." Memories of his many failed relationships flickered through his mind, but he forced them away. "What's the situation? Maybe I can give you some practical advice."

Sebastian frowned at the inquiry. "I...well, we fight all the time. Mostly if I turn her down. If you know what I mean." He shook his head, swallowing hard. "I think she only wants me for my appearance. Nothing more."

Grell's eyes widened. "That's awful," he murmured sympathetically. "I...well, shit, I don't know. I don't know."

"None of my friends do. It's a weird situation for a guy to be in, I guess." Sebastian chuckled slightly, although he didn't sound amused at all. "I can't take this anymore. I guess if I just tell her that I want to break up, maybe that'll work."

"Well, I hope so." Grell straightened up, pushing up his glasses. "Just let me know if she gives you any trouble, alright?"

Sebastian nodded quietly. He looked up, quickly swiping a hand across his eyes, and took a deep breath. "So, have you heard anything from Angelina?"

Grell flinched a bit. "I...well, no. I haven't. We haven't spoken."

Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. "Do let me know if you want her number. I think I have it somewhere. She is Ciel's favorite aunt, after all." He grinned a little. "Now, I hate to cut this short, but I need to head back inside. I have some business to take care of."


	7. Bear, Part One

**A/N: Well, I've been dreading/looking forward to writing this plot arc ever since I started the story. But I don't think I can get another chapter out of Atrophy- there's just not enough planned out for 1,500 words or so of story. Hannah will still come up at certain points during the plot, though, as will Finnian if that helps matters any.**

**This chapter shouldn't be too depressing. Bonus points if anyone can guess what's going to happen next; otherwise, on to the story!**

* * *

_Seven_

_Bear, Part One_

Grell had thought that, as soon as Hannah was away from Claude and things were restored to some semblance of normal, he'd be fine. The long nights of agonizing and analyzing every thought that passed by would be over, he'd move on, and find someone new to obsess over. But that was just it- they weren't.

He still found himself worrying about Madam Red, out of all people. No matter how many times he told himself that this was growing unhealthy and he needed to let it go, those thoughts still persisted. If anything, they had gotten worse ever since she had been released from the hospital, almost two weeks ago.

And so, when he ran into her on his way home from work, he couldn't help but feel ecastic.

She looked a bit better than she had in the hospital, but still had that worn down...well, for lack of a better word, 'depressed' look about her. That worried him more than it should have. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him.

"You're Grell," Madam Red whispered, looking him up and down in surprise.

Grell simply stared at her, not quite able to believe what was happening. _What do I do? She probably wouldn't have said anything if she didn't think anything of me. But we've hardly spoken...it would feel wrong to say something if I barely know her! _

She frowned at his lack of response. "I'm sorry I bothered you," she muttered, pushing past him.

He blinked, turning around. "No, it's fine! I just..."

She stopped, but didn't face him. "What? What is it?"

Grell swallowed hard, trying to force himself to calm down, although his attempts were more and more futile by the second. "Where are you going? Maybe we could...well, catch up!"

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "My house. I'm going home."

"...oh."

"You can walk with me, if you want to. It's no bother. It's not like I've anything better to do."

Grell blinked, before pushing up his glasses and half-walking, half-sprinting over. "Well, how are you?"

She sighed quietly. "I've been better. And you?"

"I could say the same."

And that was it. Madam Red lapsed into silence, and Grell was too worried and confused to think of anything else to say. Part of him wanted to confess, but he knew it was a terrible idea. _Isn't i-_

"Grell, have you ever..." Madam Red trailed off for a moment, before turning to him, dark brown eyes meeting bright green. "Have you ever...fallen for someone who you hardly know?"

He immediately took an interest in the concrete sidewalk under his feet. "I...well...yes."

"Then you know how it feels, don't you?" Her voice cracked slightly. "Maybe I'm just being irrational. I haven't been able to think straight for weeks."

Grell looked up, eyeing her quizically. "And who might this person be?" he asked. "I mean, if it isn't too much troubl-"_  
_

"It's you!"

He came to a standstill, his mind reeling. "You're joking, right?" he blurted out. "I mean...shit, I'm really bad with this. But why would you be in love with me, out of all people? There's so many ot-"

Madam Red turned on her heel, keeping a short distance between them. "Out of anyone, while I was stuck in that awful place, you were the only person who didn't criticise me. Because God forbid I was upset!" Her voice lowered slightly. "And she just won't stop, she comes over to my house now..."

"Rachel?"

"I can't get away from her. I want her to leave, but she thinks it's 'helpful' to tell things like 'oh, you need to cheer up!'" Each word that came out of her mouth spoke of more anger and resentment than the last, and Grell couldn't help but take a step back. "'Things are turning around!'"

_Don't you see? She needs someone who isn't like that. _There it was again, the part of him that still wanted him to spill out his feelings and take care of her and...just make sure she wasn't _alone. _

_ But...she's just so hostile._

"Oh, God, you're probably thinking the same thing, aren't you?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by her accusation, and scrambled to think of a response.

_For fuck's sake, just tell her!_

"I'm not," he said quietly. "If I did, then what kind of person would I be? I haven't any right to tell you that."

Madam Red relaxed slightly, but her eyes still burned with untold frustration. She took a few steps forward. "Were you being serious when you said I was just a good patient?"

"I..." Grell blinked. For once, he knew what he needed to say, but the words had barricaded themselves somewhere at the bottom of his throat; he could almost choke on them, as if they were some tangible force. "I was being professional at the time."

"And? We're in the middle of downtown London, not the hospital."

"I'm not going to lie," he sighed. "Yes, I wasn't being serious. I did think of you as much more than a patient."

* * *

Angelina had yet to figure out how, but after two weeks of having to deal with Rachel, she'd grown very, very fond of Grell. No, 'fond' wasn't the right word...she had finally come to the conclusion she was in love with him. Or maybe in love with the concept of having someone that wouldn't constantly criticise her every move. But Grell was that someone to her.

She hadn't necessarily intended to run into him that evening. She'd simply been walking back from the park- a place she had taken up visiting in the past week or so to get out of the house and keep her mind from wandering too much. Nor had she intended to go on a long rant about her sister in the middle of London, fueled by the fires of frustration and resentment that had only grown stronger ever since she left the hospital. Or tell him that she was in love with him...no, this evening had been far from what she could've ever possibly imagined it being.

Not that she cared.

She was beyond caring what others thought of her at this point.

Well...except Grell. Angelina could've sworn she felt her heart skip a beat at the very notion of him actually admitting to her that he thought of her as more than just another sick person for him to take care of. She didn't _have _to be alone anymore, stuck pacing the empty halls of her house as she listened to Rachel ramble on and on about her day and how she needed to be more positive and that nothing stayed bad forever and...

"Are you alright?" When Angelina looked up, she noticed the red-headed nurse staring at her quizically. "I didn't offend you, did I?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no, that's exactly what I _wanted _to hear." She straightened up, nervously running a hand through her hair and sweeping her bangs to the side. "Would you like to come over?"

Grell raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I don't see why not."


	8. Author

It's been a long time since I've updated Hospice, for two reasons. The first was procrastination and all-around business, the second was being banned from FanFiction (the only reason I am talking to you people right now is because we just replaced our router and it reset all of our web filters). With that said, I do have a blog now, and I intend on continuing Hospice elsewhere.

At the present time, I plan on posting what I already have written and finishing it on my Wattpad account, braveykinz.

Thank you for reading this story, and I hope to finish it up here in the future.


End file.
